8 voices from tech titans, celebrities, journalists on Paul Allen’s death


By Jim Miller,
Here are eight unique voices on the various contributions Paul Allen made to the nation.

How Paul Allen kept the Seahawks in Seattle
From the Seattle Post Intelegencer

“In 1997, only one person was willing to take the risk of owning an NFL team when the roof was literally falling in on sports in Seattle,” King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer said in a statement. “Paul Allen was that person. Every family that comes together to watch the Seahawks play, whether in Seattle or in London, in their living rooms or at Century Link, should forever be thankful to Paul Allen and the Allen family. When there was not a lot to celebrate on the front page, the Seahawks gave us a lot to celebrate on the sports pages. Under Allen’s oversight, the Seahawks had their most successful run in their history — advancing to three Super Bowls (XL, XLVIII, XLIX), winning it all in the 2013 season. Seattle qualified for the playoffs five consecutive years from 2012-16.

Brought great success to Portland Trailblazers
The Oregonian reporter, Joe Freeman,

“A self-confessed basketball fanatic, Allen regularly evaluated college prospects in the walk up to the yearly NBA draft and relished being in the Blazers’ war room on draft day. If Allen developed a love for a certain player, odds are that player would be retained regardless of what the Blazers’ basketball talent evaluators thought.  Allen so loved the team, he once paid for a private television production crew to travel to Redmond to film and broadcast live a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets to his yacht outside Africa.Allen’s tenure as Blazers owner was rife with controversy but mostly successful. Under his ownership, the Blazers qualified for the playoffs 23 times and made five trips to the Western Conference Finals.”

Bill Gates: ‘He deserved much more time’
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates

“I am heartbroken by the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Paul Allen. From our early days together at Lakeside School, through our partnership in the creation of Microsoft, to some of our joint philanthropic projects over the years, Paul was a true partner and dear friend. Personal computing would not have existed without him.But Paul wasn’t content with starting one company. He channeled his intellect and compassion into a second act focused on improving people’s lives and strengthening communities in Seattle and around the world. He was fond of saying, “If it has the potential to do good, then we should do it.” That’s the kind of person he was.Paul loved life and those around him, and we all cherished him in return. He deserved much more time, but his contributions to the world of technology and philanthropy will live on for generations to come. I will miss him tremendously.”

NBA Commissioner : ‘One of the longest NBA owners’
By Adam Silver

“As one of the longest-tenured owners in the NBA, Paul brought a sense of discovery and vision to every league matter large and small. He was generous with his time on committee work, and his expertise helped lay the foundation for the league’s growth internationally and our embrace of new technologies. He was a valued voice who challenged assumptions and conventional wisdom and one we will deeply miss as we start a new season without him. Our condolences go to his family, friends and the entire Trail Blazers organization.”

His environmental stewardship,
By Leonardo DiCaprio

“Sad to hear of the passing of Paul Allen, who was a strong advocate for environmental protection. He and the team at Vulcan played a pivotal role in developing the Shark Conservation Fund alongside LDF. His legacy lives on via his incredible work as a philanthropist and investor”

Seattle Seahawk coach Pete Carroll,

“Deeply saddened by the passing of @PaulGAllen. I’ll miss him greatly. His gracious leadership and tremendous inspiration will never be forgotten.The world is a better place because of Paul’s passion, commitment, and selflessness. His legacy will live on forever.”

Jeff Bezos of Amazon

 

“Very sad to hear of Paul Allen’s passing. His passion for invention and pushing forward inspired so many. He was relentless to the end. My heart goes out to Paul’s family and friends.”

Scottie Pipen, former Trail Blazer.

“I loved my time in Portland with the @trailblazers and that was in part due to Paul Allen and his leadership. He was an incredibly accomplished and remarkable man who gave so much back to his community. RIP.”

 

 


Disclaimer: Articles featured on Oregon Report are the creation, responsibility and opinion of the authoring individual or organization which is featured at the top of every article.